JPH0259380A - Printer with spelling check function - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable the operator to verify easily the location of a misspelling while continuing an inputting operation by providing a misspelling responsive controlling means for shifting a printing ribbon from a printing position to a rest position and stopping a printing mechanism, upon detecting the presence of a misspelling. CONSTITUTION:When a key 2 operated is a mark-off key, a corresponding process is executed. A dictionary search is carried out to check whether the same word as a printed word specified by the mark off keys before and after the word is present in a dictionary memory 76. When the word searched for is not present in the dictionary memory, it is judged that a misspelling is present. At this time, a driving motor 109 is operated based on an instruction from a CPU 62, whereby a ribbon-lifting cam 52 is rotated reversely, namely, rotated counterclockwise. This causes a ribbon cassette 42 to be turned downward through a holder 44 against an energizing force of a spring 48, and a printing ribbon 40 is shifted down to a rest position deviated downward from a printing line. As a result, the operator can visually verify the word in the printing line without being obstructed by the ribbon 40.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION <Field of Application in Industry 1> The present invention relates to a printing device equipped with a spell check function for determining the presence or absence of spelling errors in input words.

<Prior Art> Printing devices such as electronic typewriters usually include a printing mechanism including a print head and a carriage that moves while supporting a print ribbon. It is common to print on a printing medium such as printing paper.

In such a printing device, the printing ribbon is moved between a printing position facing the print head (upper position) and a resting position away from the print head (F direction position) so that printed characters, etc. can be visually recognized. Some are equipped with a ribbon lift mechanism. In most cases, this type is designed to keep the print ribbon in the print position during continuous input, and to maintain the print ribbon in the rest position when input is paused.
Print ribbon drive control means are generally provided.

The above-mentioned printing device with spell check function is
Such a printing device is provided with a dictionary memory in which spelling information of a large number of lt1 words is stored in advance, and
A spell check means is added for determining the presence or absence of spelling errors by searching the dictionary memory.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> Conventionally, in a printing device having a spell check function as described above, when a spelling error is determined by the spell check means, the operator is generally notified of the occurrence of the spelling error by an alarm &, etc. However, by the time the operator is notified of a spelling error, he or she may have already entered the next entry in succession, and in such a case, the printing ribbon remains in the printing position. There is a problem in that it is difficult for the operator to confirm where the spelling mistake is in the printed word.

<Means for Solving the Problems> In order to solve such problems, the present invention provides an input device, a print mechanism, a print ribbon lift mechanism, a print ribbon drive control means, and a spell check means as shown in FIG. In addition, when a spelling error is determined by the spell check means and input is being performed continuously, the printing ribbon is moved from the printing position to the rest position when the spelling error is determined, and the printing mechanism is stopped. This is characterized by the addition of spelling error handling control means.

<Functions and Effects> As a result, even if a spelling error is detected during continuous input, the printing ribbon is retracted to the rest position, allowing the operator to keep track of where the spelling error is while continuing to input. This makes it easier to confirm whether an error has occurred.

<Embodiment> Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an electronic typewriter will be described based on the drawings.

The electronic typewriter shown in FIG. 2 includes a keyboard 2 and a printing mechanism 3, between which a liquid crystal display 4 having a predetermined number of lines is provided. The keyboard 2 includes character keys such as letter keys, number keys, symbol keys, etc., as well as character keys 6, comma keys 7, colon keys 8, space keys 10, backspace keys 12, and return keys 1.
4. Collection key 16, etc.)? Nkushi Jinkee is preached. Here, ``2) Small period key 6, comma key 7, colon key 8. The space key 10 and return key 14 function as word delimiters 1-.

Printing machine li! I! 3 is a platen 3 that also serves as a paper feed roller
0 and a carriage 32 that runs along this platen 30, and the key 1J ridge 32 includes a wheel cassette 36 that accommodates a type book eel (daisy wheel) 34, a printing hammer and a solenoid that drives it. 38, a ribbon cassette 42 for accommodating the printing ribbon 40, etc. are mounted.

As is clear from FIG. 3, the ribbon cassette 42 is attached to the holder 4/I-1. The holder 44 is rotatably mounted relative to the carriage 32 by a shaft 46 parallel to the platen 30, and is located at a position where the portion of the print ribbon 40 exposed from the ribbon cassette 42 faces the print head of the carriage 32. For example, it is movable between a printing position facing the printing line of the platen 30 and a resting position downward from the front. The holder 44 is moved counterclockwise in the figure by a tension spring 48, that is, the printing ribbon 4
The holder 4' is biased toward the 0 printing position.
The cam follower 50 integrated with the ribbon lift cam 52
is engaged with the cam groove 53 of. The ribbon lift cam 52 is rotatably mounted on the kit t7 lever 32 by a shaft 54.
and is driven by a ribbon lift cam drive motor 109 (see FIG. 5). That is, by being rotated clockwise in FIG. 3, the printing ribbon 40 moves from the rest position to the printing position based on the biasing force of the tension spring 48, and the ribbon lift cam 52 is rotated counterclockwise in the drawing. As a result, the printing ribbon 40 moves from the printing position to the rest position against the biasing force of the spring 48.

The ribbon lift cam 52 has such a cam groove.

In this embodiment, the correction ribbon 56 is supported by the holder 44 on the lower side of the printing ribbon 4.O, and is provided so as to be able to be wound up between a pair of spools, so that during the correction printing operation, the correction ribbon 56 is In other words, during normal printing operation, the rotation of the holder 44 in the counterclockwise direction in the figure causes the printing ribbon 4 to face the platen 30.
A stopper (not shown) is used to limit the rotation of the printing position facing the platen 30. During correction printing, the stopper is restricted by, for example, a solenoid or a cam on the ribbon lift cam 52 and the body. When the correction ribbon 56 is released and the cam 1 58 of the ribbon lift cam 52 corresponds to the cam 7t IJ 50, the correction ribbon 56 is brought into a state facing the platen 30.

Also, platen 30. Carriage 32. type wheel 3
4, each drive motor 10 is connected as shown in FIG.
6, 104, 100, a motor 108 for winding up the printing ribbon 40, etc., are provided, and are controlled by a control circuit as illustrated.

Next, the control circuit of this typewriter will be explained based on the block diagrams of FIGS. 4 and 5.

The keyboard 2 is connected to a central processing unit CPU 62 via a keyboard input circuit 60, and the key code corresponding to the key operated on the keyboard 2 is C.
P LJ 62 is supplied. The CPU O3 includes a keyboard input circuit 60, a ROM 64, a RAM 66, a print drive circuit 681, a table control circuit 70, and a common path line 7.
2 are interconnected.

The ROM 64 is provided with a 1viQ memory 76 in addition to a program memory 74 that stores various control programs for the wood typewriter. The internal memory 76 stores, for example, data related to the spelling of about 70,000 words in alphabetical categories in order to check for spelling errors in input words.

This typewriter has a typewriter mode in which printing is performed almost simultaneously with key input on the keyboard 2, and a typewriter mode in which key input data is not immediately printed, but a predetermined number of data is temporarily stored and the print command key 17 is operated. It is possible to set a method for printing all at once. The RAM 66 includes a current position memory 78 that sequentially updates and stores the current position of the edge ridge 32 from the absolute origin in correspondence with the print position when in typewriter mode, and stores the printed character data at the print position. Necessary memories, registers, etc. are provided in addition to a print data memory 80 that sequentially stores a predetermined number of data in correspondence with the input data, an input buffer t982 that temporarily stores input data input from the keyboard 2 during the memory mode. .

The print drive control circuit 68 controls the carriage 32, the type wheel 34, the holder 44 supporting the ribbon cassette 42, etc. based on the carriage movement signal supplied from the CPU 62 and the type selection signal corresponding to the character to be printed. Control the operation lff.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, the type wheel control circuit 90. The hammer control circuit 92, the ridge control circuit 941, the paper feed control circuit 96, the ribbon feed control circuit 98, and the ribbon lift control circuit 99 constitute the print drive circuit 68 described above. These circuits drive the type wheel drive motor i that constitutes the drive system of the printing mechanism 4.
oo, hammer drive solenoid 38. Carriage drive motor 104, platen drive motor 106. The operations of ribbon feed motor 108 and ribbon lift cam drive motor 109 are controlled respectively.

The display control circuit 70 is a unit for displaying characters and the like on the liquid crystal display 4, and is connected to the liquid crystal display 4 and includes a character generator that stores a large number of character dot patterns corresponding to character code data. There is.

Next, regarding the programs stored in the program memory 74 of the ROM 64, the parts particularly closely related to the present invention are mainly shown by 70-ch (P-t) in FIG.

Note that this flowchart does not show the case of the typewriter mode mentioned above, and step 3 is executed when the power is turned on.
1 (hereinafter simply referred to as 81; the same applies to other steps) C initialization is performed, and in S2 the key input state is entered. When the character key 5 (for example, the I'A1 key) is pressed, printing processing is performed in S4. That is, when the type wheel drive motor 100 rotates the type wheel 34 and selects l'AI based on a command from the CPU 62, the ribbon lift cam drive motor 109 rotates the ribbon lift cam 52 in the forward direction to avoid the printing ribbon. 40 is lifted up to print, and furthermore, the solenoid 38 is actuated and the hammer is struck, causing the "AI"
is printed on the printing paper, and then the knife 32 moves by one character, and the printed printing ribbon 40 is wound up by the ribbon feed motor 108.

If the operated key is not character key 5, it is determined in S5 whether it is a word delimiter key (space key 10, return key 14, period key 6, comma key 7, colon key 8, etc.); S6
Other key processing is executed in S9, but if it is a delimiter key, the process corresponding to the delimiter key is executed in S9.

For example, if the space key is 10, is it key 1? The ridge 32 is moved by one character in a non-printing state.

Then, a dictionary search is performed in S10, and it is determined in S11 whether or not there is a misspelling in the printed spelling. . In other words, it is checked whether the same word as the printed word specified by the preceding and following delimiter keys exists in the dictionary i9 memory 76, and if the word 01 with the same spelling exists, it is assumed that there is no misspelling. S2
Returning to step S12, if a word with the same spelling does not exist, it is determined that there is a spelling error and the process moves to S12.

This S12 is a step of ribbon down processing, and C
The ribbon lift cam drive motor 109 operates based on the command from the PU 62, and the ribbon lift cam 52 reverses.
That is, by rotating counterclockwise in FIG. 3, the ribbon cassette 42 is rotated downward through the holder 44 against the biasing force of the spring 48, and the printing ribbon 40 is moved downward from the printing line. The body that fell off was brought down to position 1. As a result, the operator
This allows the words on the printed line to be visually recognized without the 0 being an obstruction. Following the execution of step 812, alarm processing of step 813 is performed, and a warning is issued using a buzzer, lamp, or the like.

After such a misspelling is detected, it is determined in S14 whether there is a subsequent key input. If the operator continues to input data despite the misspelling warning,
This determination is YES and the process moves to 815, where the input key is, for example, the backspace key 10. It is determined whether a key input such as the correction key 16 is for correcting a misspelling. If the key operation is for inputting the spelling of a normal word, the determination is NO and the process moves to 820, where the content of the key input, that is, the code data of the input key is stored in the input buffer memory 82. , the input data is displayed on the liquid crystal display 4, and the printing process corresponding to the input key is not executed. That is, the mode is temporarily converted from the typewriter mode to the memory mode, and the printing mechanism such as the printer ridge 32 is stopped.

In the following S21, it is determined whether a certain period of time has elapsed since the misspelling was detected, and if it has not elapsed, the process returns to 814. This step S21 is a step for checking whether enough time has elapsed for the operator to recognize the spelling error due to the alarm sound etc. in S13. In other words, even if an alert for a spelling error is issued while the operator is making continuous key inputs, there will be a spelling error that does not exist in the dictionary memory 76 (for example, the spelling of a person's name or place name, or that the operator himself intentionally entered). In the case of a spelling error, etc.), it is not a proper spelling error, so after the certain time period 821 has elapsed, S22 is executed, and processing corresponding to the contents of the memory is executed. For example, the key code data stored in the input buffer memory 82 will be printed all at once.

On the other hand, immediately after the alarm process in S13 or in S14.
815. After several key inputs have been performed through the loop of 820 and S21, if it is determined in 815 that a key input for correcting a misspelling (operation of the backspace key 12 and correction key 161) has been performed, this In this case, the operator recognizes the spelling error due to the spelling error alarm and performs an operation to correct it. In this case, the input after the misspelling at S16, that is, the key stored in the input buffer 7 memory 82 at 820 The data is canceled, and processing corresponding to the input key for correction is executed in S17. For example, if the correction key 16 is pressed while the print head of the carriage 32 faces the misspelled portion, the ribbon lift cam 52 rotates clockwise in FIG. 3 and the stopper action described above is released. When the cam follower 50 corresponds to the cam groove 58, the correction ribbon 56 is lifted to a position facing the printed line, and based on the data stored in the current position memory 78 and the print data memory 80, the same striking process as that for the misprint is performed. is performed, and the erroneously written portion is peeled off to the correction ribbon 56 side. After that, the correct characters can be printed.

As described above, when a misspelling is determined, the printing ribbon 40 is moved down from the printing position to the rest position even if input is performed continuously, so the operator can easily check where the misspelling was. can.

In this embodiment, the dictionary memory 76 of the ROM 64,
810 and 811 in FIG. 6 of the program memory 74
The memory area that stores the data, etc., and the CPU that executes it.
62 constitutes spell checking means. Also,
The memory area in the program memory 74 that stores steps 812 and subsequent steps (S14, S15, S20, etc.) in FIG. ing.

C1 In the embodiment described above, the key data input within a certain period of time after being determined as a misspelling is not printed but is temporarily stored in the memory, and the input itself is accepted. , it is also possible to create a program that does not accept any key input after determining a misspelling.

Further, the printing mechanism, ribbon lift mechanism, etc. are not limited to those of the above embodiments, and various types of known mechanisms may be employed.

In addition, the present invention may be modified based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art.
Of course, it can be implemented in an improved manner.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram conceptually showing the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of an electronic typewriter that is an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 3 is a partial sectional view showing the main parts of the printing mechanism in Fig. 2, Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing the control system of the typewriter, and Fig. 5 does not show the printing drive circuit in more detail. It is a block diagram. FIG. 6 is a flowchart mainly showing the parts of the control program stored in the program memory that are closely related to the present invention. 2... Keyboard (input device) 3... Printing mechanism 32... Carriage 40... Printing ribbon 42... Ribbon cassette 44... Holder 50... Cam follower 52... Ribbon lift cam application People Brother Industries, Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A printing mechanism that includes a carriage that supports and moves a print head and a print ribbon, and prints on a print medium via the print ribbon based on data input from an input device, and the print ribbon is connected to the print head. A print ribbon lift mechanism that moves the print ribbon between opposing print positions and a rest position removed from the print head, keeps the print ribbon in the print position during continuous input, and lifts the print ribbon when input is paused. In a printing device equipped with a printing ribbon drive control means that maintains the printing ribbon in a rest position, a spell check method determines whether or not there is a spelling error with respect to an input word by searching a dictionary memory in which spelling information of a large number of words is stored in advance. and the spell check method determines that it is a misspelling,
and a spelling error countermeasure control means for moving the printing ribbon from a printing position to a rest position and stopping a printing mechanism when a spelling error is determined while inputting is being performed continuously. Printing device with functions.